Devices for charging self-loading weapons are known in the art. For example, the Ramseyer U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,532 issued Sept. 13, 1955 discloses a cocking device for a self-loading firearm wherein a catch on a slidable charger block engages an abutment on a slidable breech block as the charger block is pulled rearwardly by a cable. Once the breech block is in cocked position, a return spring biases the charger block back to a forward position disengaged from the breech block.
The Boals U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,908 issued Aug. 19, 1958 describes an automatic charger for a gun. The charger includes a hydraulically operated unit supported on the side of a machine gun. The unit includes a piston with a pivotal lug thereon adapted to engage the breech block slide when the piston is moved rearwardly.
An automatic recharger for a machine gun is illustrated in the Hammell U.S. Pat. No. 2,406,461 issued Aug. 27, 1946. The recharger includes a chain and sprocket mechanism driven by an electric motor with the chain carrying a lug adapted to engage the bolt of the gun and retract it for charging as the chain is driven around a triangular pattern of sprockets.
The Davidson U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,840 issued Aug. 25, 1953 and the Bobkowski U.S. Pat. No. 2,951,422 issued Sept. 6, 1960 describe automatic systems for feeding ammunition to weapons.
A remote cable arrangement for holding a cartridge in a withdrawn position from the firing chamber of a machine gun or cannon is described in the Neuschotz U.S. Pat. No. 2,389,737 issued Nov. 27, 1945. The cartridge withdrawal mechanism includes a plurality of drums each having a control cable wound thereon and attached to a weapon and a hand crank and a releaseable latch mechanism to maintain the withdrawn cartridge position until the weapon is to be fired.